Questions for Multi-dog owners

[wcladymacbeth]

Since I'm officially (hopefully) going to own 2 dogs tomorrow, I have some questions. First of all, how do I make sure Maggie gets enough to eat? I have a hunch new dog is going to wolf down his food and start in on Maggie's. Maggie leaves her food sit until she's good and ready to eat it. I'm thinking I might have to train her to eat in her crate? I'll probably have to feed her canned food for a while or something, because she always eats that right away. Any other suggestions?

Other than that, I think she'll be ok. Is there anything else I should watch out for though? She's done ok with other dogs in the house before, even spending the night. I probably won't have new dog sleep in our room at first just to be a little easier on her, not until they're friends and stuff.

 

[AGonzalez]

Well I doubt I'm much help but when I feed mine, I leave all 3 bowls out all day. Nobody seems to wolf theirs down and go to the next. I just make sure I leave out enough so everyone's full and nobody bickers. It's probably best to feed them separately at first, or even in a crate so guarding issues don't come up.

You can also do it like NILIF, where you have them sit before you put the bowl down and then give the "ok" to eat it...if it doesn't all get eaten, take the bowl up after 30 minutes and they wait until their next meal. They learn to eat while they can instead of picking at it all day.

 

[wcladymacbeth]

Oh thanks AC, that's a good idea. I'll try the NILIF thing. The only thing about leaving it out all day is that Titus could stand to lose about 10 pounds so I don't want him overeating too much. I have a hunch that his pounds will drop off real quick though because it sounds like his previous owners didn't really exercise him.

 

[hotdog2007]

I have two dogs right now and I have always fed them separately (most of the time in their crates). I have one dog that eats at lightening speed and another that eats at a more moderate place, so that way I can monitor exactly how much they eat. Also, it helps avoid fighting over food and food guarding issues.

 

[umterps97]

Which one is Titus....is he one of the dogs you posted from petfinder the other day?

 

[wcladymacbeth]

No, Titus is a dog I met at the shelter today that fits our specs, lol. He wasn't even on petfinder yet because he just got to the shelter the other day. We're picking him up tomorrow if Maggie likes him.

 

[umterps97]

That's so exciting!!!! Can't wait for pictures!

 

[drmom777]

i feed Mini in her crate at night when she goes in for the night. Then Uncle Fred can eat at his leisure.

 

[Renee750il]

Bimmer used to like to graze with his food. Living with Buffy taught him the merits of eating his food when it was served, lol. He still eats slowly, but he doesn't walk away.

Probably feed them in separate rooms for now and get Maggie used to the idea that she needs to go ahead and eat. She's also going to start getting hungrier because hopefully she'll be expending more energy playing as time goes by and she and Titus become closer.

 

[Duke'sMommy]

I feed the dogs in the basement. Ill feed Duke first as he eats right away then Ill put Hamish's food done and send him to the basement while Duke is upstairs and keep him there for 30 minutes or so and let him eat at his pace.

 

[Lizmo]

Major is like that. Doesn't eat unless there is something on the food - or waits till it's too late and the food is gone.

I usually either put canned on his or left overs from meal (whether it's eggs from breakfast or chicken from supper). Seems to work fine.

I agree, I wouldnt let him sleep in your room with Maggie the first few nights. Help Maggie to see that even though Titus is a permanant house member now, he's not taking her place.

 

[iibao]

When I'm at my cousin's house, we feed them one by one first to aviod any problems. 5 of them. After a few times of that, we feed them all together with not problems.

Oh thanks AC, that's a good idea. I'll try the NILIF thing. The only thing about leaving it out all day is that Titus could stand to lose about 10 pounds so I don't want him overeating too much. I have a hunch that his pounds will drop off real quick though because it sounds like his previous owners didn't really exercise him.

One of the dogs was also a picky eater, but after learning she only eats when when I offer. No more problems.

 

[Gypsydals]

Ivan and Peewee get fed seperatly. Peewees dish is on the other side of the baby gates which Ivan won't jump. Ivan gets fed in his crate. Ivan eats much slower than Peewee and Peewee will "try" to steal Ivans. So rather than end up with a fight on my hands in which Ivan would be the looser. I just feed seperatly.

 

[chanda]

You can feed them in separate rooms and then makes sure that the other dog doesnt want to eat anymore before giving the food to the other dog.

 

[puppydog]

Ben bugs Lilly when they are eating and Lilly will walk away from her food because she gets nervous when we shoo Ben away. So now Ben has himself in the dog box and is leashed to the cupboard when he eats. LOL!
It works!

 

[Dogs6]

My dogs are taught to only eat from their bowls and never from anyone else's. I have got a friends dog here now whose food has to stay down all day or she won't eat and she's getting older now so can't change her now and ever though my lot gobble their own down they never touch hers even though it is a different type and must be more interesting than theirs. I forgot to pick the food up last night and this morning it hadn't eve been touched. Not sure how ou could train your dogs though because in your case it is the new dog that will want to eat all the food you should probably feed them separately at least until they get to know each other

 

[Pits&Pugs]

Mine all eat in different areas of the dinning room....I feed one fist because she doesn't get along w/one of my other dogs

but my Boston and APBT eat at the same time....They are not allowed to walk over to the other while they are still eating...I don't free feed because I like to know who is getting what and how much and It could cause fights over food.

If they didn't eat what was put down in about 15 min it would get taken up...of course mine snarf down anything i put in their bowls so this has never been an issue :rofl1:

 

[tessa_s212]

All the dogs are separated. We do not free feed. Marq eats in his crate, Misha eats in a crate, Cocoa eats in my now empty, abandoned room. Pepper eats in Tasha's room. Summer eats in the kitchen. Fudge eats in Derek's room. Dogy eats in the bathroom.

In the future I'll likely feed my own bunch of dogs in crates. But at my mom's, they don't have a space specifically for 7 crates for each dog. They all go racing to their rooms when it is time to eat.

That said, Marq is a very very very hard keeper. He's picky. He won't always eat his food. The other dogs are always done FAR Before him, and he gets stuck in the crate whining with a full bowl with tons of cockers surrounding him. Lol. Must be very careful when letting him out and taking the full bowl away. If Misha gets in around there, a fight will surely erupt.

 

[Gustav]

Mine all get fed at 5pm, and you can guarentee no matter what I am doing when 5 o'clock comes around they come and get me!

Gus and Perle get theirs in the kitchen, and Max get's his just outside the kitchen door (St Bernard eating, is carnage so it's better to leave him outside) Gus will inhale his in nanoseconds, Max eats at a normal speed, and Perle savours each and every last bite.. But they all know that they are NOT to touch each others dinners.. Gus will go and lie down when he is finished, Max usually makes his way out into the garden and Perle will just keep on ploughing through.. If they have all behaved nicely, they all get a treat afterwards for pudding.

 

[Laurelin]

I think a lot depends on the dog. We free feed the paps and Trey is fed separately in a pen. He gets wet food only nowadays and he won't touch the papillon food. But he and Nik could never be allowed to eat together as they would fight.

My paps are annoying in that they are pretty picky eaters. They tend to just nibble all day or in random spurts. They also have zero problems eating out of the same bowl. They're the only dogs I've had that won't scarf down whatever you give them no matter what. If you'd free fed my shelties or lab they'd have ballooned up really fast but the paps actually keep themselves at very good weights. I don't know if that's a breed thing, I've always heard shelties are very prone to going overweight. I tried everything to get them to eat when I wanted and was snubbed. I know a lot of people don't like free feeding but it works for us. Anyways, I keep close attention to who is eating when and I make sure to keep an eye on their weight. I expect when I get a new dog, Summer will have to tough it up and start being fed at certain times.